1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for measuring a bending angle of a constant velocity joint of a drive shaft, and more particularly, to a device for measuring a bending angle of a constant velocity joint of a drive shaft for a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a driving component, which is a device transferring power generated in a powertrain to a wheel or a differential, includes a transmission and a joint provided at the wheel/differential side. Particularly, a constant velocity joint is used at the wheel/differential side in order to reflect a bending angle at the time of steering to transfer power.
At the time of damage of the driving component which is a main component associated with safety, driving force may not be transferred, and the powertrain/differential may be damaged. Strength of this driving component is determined by a size of the joint included in the shaft. In this joint, a difference in strength allowed according to a bending angle is large.
Although an allowable limit angle of the constant velocity joint is generally estimated to be 43.5 degrees, in the case of a joint that has been recently developed, strength is secured even at a bending angle of 43.5 degrees or more. However, an additional cost is required, and strength becomes poor as a bending angle increases, similar to an existing joint.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the case of a drive shaft according to the related art, a wheel-side joint serves to transfer driving force of a powertrain even in a state in which it is bent while a ball 11 therein rolls in an outer wheel 10, according to a turning radius of a tire at the time of steering.
Here, a bending angle means a degree in which the ball joint side 1 is bent based on an axis of the outer wheel 10 as compared to a state in which the wheel is neutral. As the bending angle increases, strength and durability decrease.
Recently, since damage of a joint due to excessive handle steering such as backward movement stall and an excessive bending angle generated under severe driving conditions is actually generated frequently, accurate measurement for a maximum bending angle has been prominent unlike the past.
To this end, the bending angle is measured by a method of connecting a thread to an outer side of a constant velocity joint to measure displacement. However, this method has a problem that accuracy is low. In addition, a method of measuring displacement using a variable resistor is also used. However, this method has problems that an additional time and cost are required to install a measuring device and it is difficult to install the measuring device due to a package problem of a vehicle.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.